SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

THIS LIFE : NEW YEAR, NEW ME. REALLY?

Tape

AMANDA JACKSON argues that if we’re looking for change this year, it’s to God – and not self-help – that we need to turn…

London

Goodness, I could feel totally inadequate if I tried to follow all the New Year’s advice on looking younger, stronger, slimmer and happier (as well as better paid).

Fitness and fashion lift-outs and online lifestyle advice tell me to combat the stress and guilt of over-indulgence at Christmas and new year by cultivating mindfulness and doing a bit of meditation as well.

Tape

NEW YEAR GUILT? Amanda Jackson says that while we want to be at our best, we don’t have all the answers. God does. PICTURE: Jennifer Burk/Unsplash 

Belief in our own powers to change our lives for the better is where we need to be.

Belief in God is seen as old-fashioned and frankly superstitious in our very secular age. We have outgrown the need for religion but belief in ME is considered sophisticated and intelligent. We don’t pray but we find truth within ourselves, which is sort of like saying that we are gods.

Except…belief in our own powers to live a good life did not achieve much in 2017 or 16. I still lose my temper and eat too much. And really, is life all about me? When did self sacrifice and patient contentment get thrown away!

Our desire for happiness versus uncertainty about how to get it, are not new to the 21st century. In Biblical times, Paul visited Athens, the centre of philosophical thought and wisdom at the time. He saw all sorts of gods being worshipped and he spoke with agnostic philosophers too (see Acts Chapter 18). Some of them were Epicureans, named after Epicurus, who taught that happiness should be the main goal in life. Others were Stoics, who followed a teacher called Zeno, who taught that self-control was the answer and that we should follow our conscience. But more than anything, the people of Athens loved to hear and talk about anything new.

Sounds a little bit like our times – seeking happiness and wellness over here with a trip to the spa while others worship the self control needed for killer abs or a three hour time in the marathon. Interestingly, the response to Paul telling the people about the new God, Jesus, was also very modern: some laughed, some believed, some wanted to keep discussing.

An obvious problem with following after my own happiness is what do I do if your ‘happiness’ collides with mine or if my conscience conveniently recommends what is best for me over and above what is best for you?

These are serious and weighty questions for the new year and somehow relying on wellness or secular wisdom does not fill me with hope.

Russell Brand is not someone I would normally go to for life advice, but he is no longer a wild drug addict since he went into recovery fifteen years ago. He says in his new book, Addictions, that we need to look to God, or a higher power (as the AA’s 12 step program names it). In the past, Brand has been a poster boy for secular humanism, but interviewed recently, Brand said, “I think we’ve been tricked into not believing in God. Life is now measured out, to paraphrase TS Eliot, in coffee spoons. This is it. Are you waiting for a damascene conversion? Not to a faith but to become yourself?”

We have rushed to dismiss religion because we see its excesses and mistakes. But I still admire the discoveries of science despite the errors and fraudulent experiments of some scientists; and I still admire democracy despite the election results that have given us Donald Trump or Jacob Zuma. God is still God, even when some people do awful things in his name. So Brand may be right when he says we have been tricked into converting away from God to a much smaller and defective god – ourselves.

I want to be the best-self I can be in 2018, but by myself I cannot have all the answers. The Greeks in Athens who asked Paul about ‘God’ could also see that man-made guidelines to self-fulfilment through happiness or self-denial were not quite the real deal. I think God is and He has promised total transformation in mind, spirit and body!

This article was first published on the Amanda Advocates blog.

 

Donate



sight plus logo

Sight+ is a new benefits program we’ve launched to reward people who have supported us with annual donations of $26 or more. To find out more about Sight+ and how you can support the work of Sight, head to our Sight+ page.

Musings

TAKE PART IN THE SIGHT READER SURVEY!

We’re interested to find out more about you, our readers, as we improve and expand our coverage and so we’re asking all of our readers to take this survey (it’ll only take a couple of minutes).

To take part in the survey, simply follow this link…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.